According to the latest report from Reuters, at least three of the top 20 investors in Microsoft insisted Microsoft board to include Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally and Computer Sciences Corp CEO Mike Lawrie to the CEO shortlist.

Microsoft board has appointed a special committee which is doing the CEO search for Microsoft and they are expected to name a CEO as soon as the end of this year.

Microsoft said it started with a list of about 40 people, including internal and external candidates, and has been narrowing it down, one of the sources said.

Do you think people like Alan Mulally and Mike Lawrie can handle Microsoft? I don’t think so. My choice will always go for an industry member.

Hope they choose wisely and choose someone that is going to energized the fans.

Asymptotic

No the fans don’t matter they will buy whatever crap the company offers – look at the Surface RT in only Fans bought.

They need to hire someone to make the rest of the world care- to make the company relevant again to people besides a few fan boys.

Bugbog

My sister-in-law isn’t a fan, and she bought one! (She’s more of a Blackberry, iPhone gal).

Thing is, I didn’t even ‘proposition’ her on it, I was recommending laptops and convertibles, when out of the blue I was being asked to explain it’s main properties.

Oh yeah. And she likes it too!

SategB

Ya but some Bill Gates wife loved Bob OS but it does not mean it was a good product. Specially in your sister in laws case when she show a history of bad taste

nohone

I don’t know much about Lawrie, so I wont say anything about him. But for Mulally, nothing against the older generation but at almost 70, MS needs someone that can understand the internet generation a bit better. He was good for Ford, an industry that has been around for over a century, but the tech world moves much faster. New cars are introduced ever 8-10 years, software is today. Some say he would fit in because he is an engineer, and so he would understand software. Cars and software are two different things. I am a software engineer, it does not mean I could design a car engine – I am a car guy, but other than the basics I know nothing about the internal combustion engine. Engineers are very different than software engineers, one deals with the physical, the other deals with the abstract, the virtual.

Yuan Taizong

Well, there are plenty of elders more into the internet than even people of our generation, but you’re right about Mulally and cars, Windows past weakness has been that it took too long to release another version, Microsoft must do what Apple does (the only thing that’s actually smart to copy from those bonkers kongkams) in releasing the next version of their O.S. every year, by introducing Windows 8.1 (Blue) iMicrosoft already has a head-start in the 3D-printing business, if they’d waited another 3 or 4 years this would’ve meant that Microsoft would be behind, Mulally must be able to understand this, but let’s not forget that he wasn’t a man who did much in the automobile industry before Ford, so maybe he’ll be better than expected, but like you, I know little about Lawrie so he’s someone I can’t judge.

donzebe

I agree with you, These guys seem to fit more into the “Ready for retirement” category.

Yuan Taizong

I honestly don’t mind them on the list, anything to get the media from talking about Elop (1. ELOP = FLOP, 2. unfortunately they won’t), but these blokes are probably not going to support the present strategy, Microsoft needs someone who will keep on supporting the Xbox, M.S.N., Bing, SkyDrive, Windows Phone and other services many market analists want to get rid of simply because they don’t apper ”attractive enough” on a balance sheet, or some other economical non-sense, the truth is, a tech company doesn’t exist solely to please investors, it exists for innovation and to make its consumers and partners lives better, this is what Microsoft does, this is what Xbox, Bing and its other divisions do and they shouldn’t be spun off.

Bing (formerly M.S.N. Search, Windows Live Search and Live Search) has proved itself in its integration in Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox, without it, Microsoft would have a vastly less usefull ecosystem, the Bing AppEx-team also builds the most useful apps in the Windows and Windows Phone Stores, respectively. The Xbox is often hated by investors because it’s ”relatively” not profitable, despite making millions of profits, they say that it’s ”not big enough for Microsoft” and that it should sell to Samsung or Apple, yeah, as if that will ever happen, even spun off as a seperate company would interfere with the present vision of making Microsoft the first to unite all screens.

The market isn’t going to dominate the sectors, the sectors will always dominate the market, financial analists and economists try to make themselves look more important, and claim that the market rules all, despite this even when the NASDAQ has its biggest crash even with the bursting of the Dot-Com Bubble, more than 90% of all internet-companies stayed afloat despite the crash, people overestimate the power of short term profits over long term visions.

Microsoft needs someone who’ll continue Ballmer’s present vision of 1 Microsoft all the time, and someone who’ll support the ENTIRE ecosystem and will build an infrastructure of Clouds to interconnect them, the next Chief-Executive-Officer should keep innovating with Microsoft Office & Microsoft Office 365 as well as keep supporting Bing and Microsoft’s online Cloud-services formerly known as ”Windows Live” and must integrate Skype better into these services.

If Elop would be C.E.O. he would come again with his ”burning platform” B.S. or one of these will treat Microsoft as ”the Windows company”, or at-least there’s a large chance for it, Microsoft Research needs better funding and the Xbox One needs to have more support now then ever from the top, whatever will happen this must not interfere with Microsoft’s present vision of building a common cloud-connected ecosystem to power all devices across all ecosystems and operating systems.

Asymptotic

Acturally like the PC business the dedicated console is slumping. MSFT needs someone who has the courage to tell fan boys like you and me that the company is not going to pursue products that we like but dying in the market.

They need to save the time and $ on the creation of great innovative new product not trying to get a few more bucks from dead ends.

Bugbog

Would have fully agreed with you, except for the Elop=Flop remark!

I think you are under-estimating the “burning platform” issue. It may have hastened the collapse of Symbian (by possibly up to 50% ahead of schedule), but it was brave & bold of him to do so, especially as it cements him as the transparent CEO he is!

Other’s may have kept silent, issued orders without explanation (to create mystery?), or just to court controversy. However Stephen Elop has carried out all his actions in the open, fully explaining his strategy all along the way.

For him to have planned, explained AND executed his strategy, all the while under scrutiny, is no easy task! And whilst we [unfortunately] did not get to see Nokia return to full credit stability (I think it’s purchase of NSN sunk that short-term, hence its sale of the D&S). We did get to see the rise of the Lumia’s, which he guided.

So, Definitely PROPS = ELOP!

Code Weed

They should invite Mr. Musk to fill that position. I am sure Microsoft will be in good hands for the next 25 years the least. He is a visionary… and Microsoft need someone like him to stay on top.

Tips_y

Alan Mulally should be pastured at the Jurassic Park so if I were the MSFT Board I’d say no to him.

But the BIGGEST AND LOUDEST NO should be reserved for Mike Lawrie. He was a general partner with ValueAct Capital from 2005 – 2006 so he is a mole for that private investment firm. A THOUSAND NO TO MIKE LAWRIE!!!

Tips_y

NO TO MIKE LAWRIE – HE IS THE CANDIDATE OF ValueAct. Lawrie was a partner from 2005 to 2006 with ValueAct!!!

NegLewis

By putting a Non-Software-Orientated CEO at MS, MS will become a piece of furniture to be decorated by some Investors, re-sold by other when they feel the need to change some things in their “house of the future”.

NO. Bill Gates must return for 1-2 years to remind us what MS stands for.
OR… in 2-5 years some random Corporation will buy and split MS in 10K pieces.

Just thinking out loud: That’s the reason why Sinosfky was… retired?

krayziehustler

It would be a disaster like putting a non innovator like Tim Cook to head Apple after Steve Jobs